If you bought Templater through aescripts + aeplugins and you need the floating license version, the manager app’s normal Install button will give you the wrong build. You have to open the cached installer files yourself and run the one with MFG_FLOAT_AES at the end of its name. That single detour is the whole trick, and the rest of this guide explains the steps around it and the reason each one is there.
We wrote this for the person who has been handed a floating key and a list of machines. Maybe you are the IT contact for a motion team. Maybe you run a render room. Either way, you will install Templater on each machine that needs it, and you will point each of those machines at a licensing server. This guide covers the install. The server side has its own guide, and the idea of a floating license has its own page, which you can read first in What Is a Floating License for After Effects Automation Software.
Why the default install is the wrong one
The aescripts + aeplugins manager is a standalone desktop app. You sign in with your aescripts + aeplugins account, find Templater under All Products, and click Install. By default, the manager installs the standard node-locked version of Templater for modern versions of After Effects. Node-locked means the license is tied to one machine. That is the right build for a single designer on a single workstation.
A floating license works differently. A floating license can move available activations between client machines easily and automatically. Templater leases a license from a pool of activations, and when After Effects quits, the license goes back to the pool. The two builds are not interchangeable. A floating key cannot be activated in the standard version, and a standard key cannot be activated in the floating version. The key type is set when you buy, so the installer you run has to match the key you hold.
License Build Differences
Floating and node-locked builds are not interchangeable
- What is the license tied to?
- Node-lockedTied to one machine
- FloatingLeases from a pool of activations
- Can I use the other key type?
- Node-lockedStandard key cannot activate floating version
- FloatingFloating key cannot activate standard version
- Which server activates the key?
- Node-lockedActivates Templater directly
- FloatingActivates DataclayLM, the server
The key type is set when you buy, so the installer you run has to match the key you hold.
There is a second point that trips people up, and we would rather say it plainly. Templater does not work with the aescripts + aeplugins floating license server. Plug-ins sold through their marketplace can use a licensing mechanism that Templater does not use. Templater’s floating keys activate our own server software, Dataclay License Manager, which we call DataclayLM. You install and configure it separately. So when you see the word “floating” anywhere in the aescripts + aeplugins world, do not assume it means the server you need. For Templater, the server is DataclayLM.
This also explains why the manager app cannot finish the job alone. It can download the installers and cache them on your machine. It cannot choose the floating build for you. And as the next section shows, one of its own menu options can be grayed out until the files have been downloaded once.
Installing the floating build, step by step
There are two paths, and which one you follow depends on your version of After Effects. The modern path covers After Effects 2022 and newer. The legacy path covers After Effects 2021 and earlier. The legacy installer is for After Effects 2021 and earlier, and Jon Christoffersen, our technical and support lead, confirmed that in writing. If your machines run a mix of versions, you will do both paths, one per version group.
Before either path, do two things. First, make sure your operating system account has administrator privileges, because our install steps list it as the first requirement. Second, quit After Effects, which our steps also require before you run any installer.
Before You Install
Have these ready before running any installer
- Make sure your operating system account has administrator privileges
- Quit After Effects before you run any installer
- Have the DataclayLM server address and port ready to enter in the wizard
- Confirm the DataclayLM server is set up and reachable before clients try to lease a seat
After Effects 2022 and newer
Launch the manager app and sign in if it asks. From the All Products view, right-click the Templater product and choose Reveal Installer Files. This opens a temporary folder where the manager caches the Templater installers.
Sometimes that menu option is disabled. When it is, the manager has not downloaded the files yet. Click Install, either from the product’s right sidebar or from the right-click menu. The download starts and the standard license installer launches on its own. That is not the installer you want, so exit the setup wizard without installing anything. We know it feels backwards. It is a limitation of the manager app, and the download is the only reason you are doing it. Be aware that the manager will still show Templater as installed after you cancel the wizard. Do not trust that label. It does not mean the floating build is on the machine.
Now go back to Reveal Installer Files. Open the Installer folder, then the Floating License Support folder inside it. You will find the floating versions of Templater there. Their filenames end in MFG_FLOAT_AES. Run the one for your operating system. On Windows the file has an .exe extension, which may be hidden depending on your File Explorer view settings. On macOS the file has a .pkg extension.
Follow the wizard. At one point it asks for the addresses and port numbers of Templater’s license servers. Enter them there. That is the moment you tell this client machine where DataclayLM lives, so have the address and port ready before you start. If you do not have them yet, someone needs to set up the DataclayLM server first, and our licensing guide is the place to start.
Modern Install Path
Run the FLOAT installer, not the default one
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Sign in to the managerLaunch the manager app and sign in if it asks.
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Trigger the downloadClick Install from the product’s right sidebar or from the right-click menu so the download starts.
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Exit the standard wizardThe standard license installer launches on its own, exit the setup wizard without installing anything.
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Reveal Installer FilesRight-click the Templater product and choose Reveal Installer Files, then open the Floating License Support folder inside the Installer folder.
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Run the FLOAT installerRun the file whose name ends in MFG_FLOAT_AES and enter the addresses and port numbers of Templater’s license servers when the wizard asks.
After Effects 2021 and earlier
The legacy path skips the reveal trick. In the manager, select Templater in the All Products view. In the right sidebar, under Downloads, click the Download button for “Templater for AE 2021 and earlier.” That fetches the alternative installers.
When the download finishes, click the “Templater for AE 2021 and earlier” title or the folder icon next to it. This opens the download location. Go into the temporary Installer folder, where the Legacy versions are. For the floating build, the filenames end in LEGACY_MFG_FLOAT_AES. Notice the difference from the standard legacy installer, which ends in LEGACY_MFG_AES. One extra word, FLOAT, is the whole difference between a machine that leases a seat and a machine that asks for a node-locked activation.
Run the installer for your operating system and follow the wizard. Enter the license server addresses and port numbers when it asks, exactly as in the modern path.
Checking the install and connecting to the server
An install that finished is not the same as an install that works. Our docs give three checks, and each one catches a different failure.
Launch an After Effects version that received the Templater install. Open the scripting preferences and confirm that “Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network” is enabled. In After Effects CC 2018 or earlier, that setting is on the General page. In CC 2019 and newer, it is under Scripting & Expressions. Our install steps list it as a check, so do not skip it.
Next, open the Effect menu and choose Dataclay. If the Templater Settings effect is listed, the native plugin is installed correctly. Then open the Window menu. If you see a Templater menu item ending in .jsxbin, the panel file is in place. The first check covers the plugin and the second covers the panel, so a machine can pass one and fail the other.
Post-Install Checks
Three checks confirm a working install
| Check | Where to look | What it confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Scripting preference | Scripting & Expressions (CC 2019+) or General (CC 2018 or earlier) | Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network is enabled |
| Effect menu | Effect menu → Dataclay → Templater Settings | Native plugin is installed correctly |
| Window menu | Window menu → Templater item ending in .jsxbin | Panel file is in place |
Now connect the client to the server if the wizard did not already do it, or if the server details changed. Open the Templater panel, click Preferences, and find the Templater Features Floating section. Click License Server and enter the IP address of the licensing server and the port you chose during setup. With Templater 3.0 or later, you can also enter IP and port information for up to two failover servers. Click Save, then restart Templater so the change takes effect.
Once that is done, three buttons become available in the same section. License Info shows the server address and port, with the primary and failover servers for Templater 3.0 or later, and it shows the Templater edition information for the license in use. Request License asks the server for a license from its pool. Drop License releases the lease and returns the seat to the pool. Use Drop License when you want to free a seat without quitting After Effects.
A note on the license key step
Our aescripts + aeplugins install page includes a final step for the manager app: click the Licenses button in the product sidebar to reveal your license key, copy it, then paste it into the Licensing tab of Templater’s Preferences under Activation. That step is written for the standard build, where the key activates Templater directly.
For a floating key, our floating license page says something different. A floating key does not directly activate Templater. It activates DataclayLM, the server. Our server guide says DataclayLM is activated with one floating key at a time. The Licenses button in the manager app is still where you find the key itself, so you will use it. So our own pages disagree about where the key goes, and we cannot settle it for you from the documents we have. Do not paste the key into a client’s Licensing tab, and do not activate it anywhere, until our support team has told you where it belongs for your setup.
Seats, a worked example, and who should look elsewhere
Here is a hypothetical, so you can see how the numbers work. Imagine a studio of nine people, and at any given time at most six of them are working in Templater. Jon’s rule from October 30 applies directly. If at most six people are active at once, the floating key needs six activations. You do not need nine. All nine machines can have the floating build installed and pointed at the licensing server. A machine holds a seat while After Effects is running, and the seat returns to the pool when After Effects quits. When all six seats are in use, a seventh person has to wait until someone releases one.
Arie Stavchansky, our founder, adds that a floating key can have anywhere from one to N seats, with at least one seat. A studio that only wants to move one license between machines without deactivating and reactivating it can have a single seat. Which number is right depends on how easily you want to handle activation.
The count you give the studio’s buyer is a count of simultaneous users, not of installed machines. That is the useful reading of the rule, and it is the reason floating licensing suits teams with shared hardware and virtual machines. With a node-locked license, every reboot or fresh virtual machine means Templater has to be deactivated and reactivated by hand. With a floating setup, the virtual machine leases a seat when it starts.
Now the limits. Three of them are worth knowing before you commit.
First, you need a server. The machine running DataclayLM has to be on and reachable whenever a client wants a seat. If you do not want to maintain a server, a floating license is not the right key. Our server guide recommends a dedicated machine, and says to talk to support if your real goal is a single-activation key that moves between machines.
Second, the key type is set at purchase, and the two builds are not interchangeable. If you bought a standard key and your team needs floating, or the other way round, contact support.
Third, the installer path is fiddly. The reveal step, the canceled wizard and the grayed-out menu are manager app behaviors, not Templater behaviors. If you would rather skip them, our docs also say you can download the latest installers from the aescripts website. In your aescripts account, My Account, then My Downloads and Licenses, lists your purchased products with a Download link. That modal links to the modern installers and the legacy ones. Our docs do not say whether the floating installers are included in that download, so we cannot promise that route works for the floating build. The filename check above still applies to whatever you download.
Who should look elsewhere? A single freelancer on one workstation does not need any of this. The standard node-locked install through the manager’s Install button is simpler and matches the key. A team choosing a key type should read the licensing guide linked above first. For how bots and data sources fit together, see setting up one bot or many bots on one data source. For general installation questions on every platform, Templater system requirements, installation and upgrades is the page to open.
The bottom line is short. Use the manager to download, not to install, run the installer whose filename says FLOAT, enter your server’s address and port, and check the plugin, the panel and the scripting preference before you call a machine done. Count seats by simultaneous users, and ask support where the key goes before you activate anything. You can read more about Templater on its product page.
That is the install path from start to finish. Here are short answers to the questions a buyer has next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use the aescripts + aeplugins floating license server with Templater?
No. Templater does not work with the aescripts + aeplugins floating license server, because it uses a different licensing mechanism than the one used by plug-ins sold through their marketplace. Templater’s floating keys activate Dataclay License Manager, which you install and configure yourself. The aescripts + aeplugins manager is still useful for downloading the Templater installers, but the server that hands out seats is DataclayLM. If you are weighing a floating key against a standard one, read our licensing guide or contact our support team before you buy.
Why is Reveal Installer Files grayed out in the manager app?
The manager app has not downloaded the Templater files yet. Click Install from the right sidebar or the right-click menu to start the download. The standard license installer will launch automatically, and that is not the one you want, so exit its setup wizard. Then right-click Templater again and choose Reveal Installer Files, which should now be available. The manager will show Templater as installed even though you canceled the wizard, so ignore that label and check the machine instead.
Which installer file do I run for the floating version?
For After Effects 2022 and newer, look in the Floating License Support folder inside the Installer folder. The filenames end in MFG_FLOAT_AES. For After Effects 2021 and earlier, look in the Installer folder of the legacy download. The filenames end in LEGACY_MFG_FLOAT_AES. On Windows the installer is an .exe file and on macOS it is a .pkg file. If a filename lacks FLOAT, it is the standard node-locked build, and it will not accept a floating key.
How many seats does a floating key need for my team?
Our technical lead answered this on October 30. If at most six people are active at once, the floating key needs six activations. More machines can have the floating build installed and pointed at the licensing server, and they check out a seat as seats are released back to the pool. Our founder adds that a key can have anywhere from one seat to N seats. Count the people working at the same time, not the machines.
What do I enter when the installer asks for the license servers?
The installation wizard asks for the addresses and port numbers of Templater’s license servers. Enter the address of the machine running DataclayLM and the port you chose during server setup. You can change these later in the Templater panel under Preferences, in the Templater Features Floating section, by clicking License Server. With Templater 3.0 or later you can also add up to two failover servers. Save, then restart Templater.
How do I confirm the floating install worked?
Open After Effects and check three things. Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network must be enabled in the scripting preferences. The Effect menu should list Dataclay with a Templater Settings effect, which confirms the plugin. The Window menu should show a Templater item ending in .jsxbin, which confirms the panel. Then use License Info in the Templater preferences to see the server address and the edition for the license in use.
Do I need the standard installer for After Effects 2021 or earlier?
No. After Effects 2021 and earlier has its own legacy installers, and the legacy floating build ends in LEGACY_MFG_FLOAT_AES. In the manager app you download them from the Downloads section of the Templater sidebar, using the button labeled Templater for AE 2021 and earlier. The legacy installer is for After Effects 2021 and earlier, so a machine running a newer version should use the modern floating installer instead.
